The Surprising History of the Ouija Board’s Colorado Connection

It might surprise you to know that the Ouija Board is something that wasn't created hundreds of years ago. I initially thought this peculiar board dated back to medieval times, but I was wrong. You might also be surprised to know that the Ouija Board has a connection to Colorado.

The History of the Ouija Board

My earliest memories of a Ouija Board come from horror movies in which spirits were conjured from another realm. If you asked me to name the movie, I honestly couldn't do it.

Some may think that these boards were created long, long ago. In fact, the beginnings of the Oujia Board started out just a little over a decade before the Civil War.

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According to the Talking Board Historical Society, the first boards emerged in 1848 as a form of modern spiritualism. It wasn't until around 1890 that the Ouija Board got its official name. The name Oujia was created by a by the name of Helen Peters Nosworthy, who was described as a "strong medium."

The name Ouija came when she asked the talking board what name it would like to be called, and the board spelled out O-U-I-J-A. Nosworthy asked the board what the name Ouija was supposed to mean, and it replied with "Good luck."

The Ouija Board was first sold in 1890 by the Kennard Novelty Co. and is now sold to this very day by Hasbro Inc.

Helen Peter Nosworthy's Connection to Colorado

Helen and her husband, Ernest Nosworthy, moved to Denver, Colorado, in 1891, where they lived the rest of their lives. Helen Peter Nosworthy died in 1940 and is buried at the Fairmount Cemetery in Denver, Colorado. Etched into Nosworthy's tombstone are the iconic Ouija Board at the base and the words "The woman who named the Ouija Board."

For more information on the history of the Ouija Board, you can visit the Talking Board Historical Society at tbhs.org.